N O 45 AUTUMN 2017 £5.00

MAGAZINE 5 FORAGING MUST-HAVES PUT YOUR WOOD ON THE OS MAP

GREAT STORM 1987 30 YEARS ON

CAN YOU REALLY PLANT A WOODLAND? PLUS FOLDING SHAVE HORSE, WOODLAND WEDDINGS, BILLHOOK REVIEW

CONTENTS

Editor’s note ritons are passionate about planting trees. But do many trees equal a woodland? Expert Julian Evans B(p 8) explains the complexity of the forest system and makes the case for more management. Felix Dennis (p 12) had no doubt – he arranged for forest planting to continue after his death. Feast on the abundance of autumn with our Wild Food pages (p 20), maybe after tying the knot in the woods with our Woodland Wedding guide (p 32). Win a classic read (p 44) for your woodland library. And, as always, let us know what you think. Nancy Wood Editor [email protected] 20 3 News 7 Column: view through the trees by Julia Goodfellow-Smith 8 Can you Plant a Woodland? Interview: Julian Evans 12 Planting for immortality Heart of England Forest by Charlotte Fleming 15 Put your Woodland on the map Make the OS take notice 16 scotland’s Lost Coppice It’s being restored, by Torquil Varty 19 haunting Celtic Rainforests A rare habitat, by Torquil Varty 20 Wild Food 5 essential foraging guides 30 24 Give and Learn Mark Papworth gained woodland skills by volunteering 26 the Great storm 30 years on Regneration at Knole 30 Burning Passion The Bulworthy Project is built on charcoal 32 Woodland Weddings Charlotte Fleming’s top tips 34 Review: Peter Lanyon Folding Shave Horse 12 36 value Judgment Carlton Boyce finds top tools for a bottom price 38 out of the Woods The Cart Shed helps mental health sufferers 41 Review: Müller billhook with leather grip by Rod Waterfield 42 Review Robert Sorby ProEdge Sharpener by Peter Lanyon 44 Book review Two classic reads, by Judith Millidge CoveR Planting broadleaves on a 47 Letters & misc new native woodland site above Loch Katrine. 48 Woodnote CRedit: FoRestRy CommissioN/ JohN mCFaRLaNe

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2 Living Woods NEWS

@Woodland News

Not so sWeet The Forestry Commissioned this summer announced that WATT Y ENN sweet chestnut blight has J been found in South East London. The UK is home to about 12,000 hectares of woodland where sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) is the dominant tree species, mostly in southern England. The disease, caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, causes foliage to wilt and die and cankers to develop on the tree surface, which may eventually kill the tree. Chestnut blight does not pose any risk to people, pets or livestock, and is only known to seriously affect sweet chestnut species. If you suspect sweet chestnut blight, do contact the Diatom Digits by Kevin Blockey Forestry Commission via its WiNds oF ChaNGe Tree Alert tool at www.forestry. Plantation, Prof Evans’s own gov.uk/treealert. woodland. www.rfs.org.uk/ reen woodworking icons Mike Abbot and events/training-courses/ GGudrun Leitz lead a weekend of green RFs Wise aBout Woods woodcraft and talks, 14 - 15 October, to mark the CouRses RetuRN somethiNG NeW FoR 30th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1987 (see The Royal Forestry Society FutuRe FoResteRs p 26) at the Out of Nature Sculpture Show (see p (RFS) Wise About Woods The RFS is busy. On 20 38). The show runs 30 September – 22 October and Training Courses are back by October it will host – with popular demand. ‘Continuous the support of Sorbus Cover Forestry in the Uplands’, International – the first forestry taught by Dr Jens Haufe, and arboriculture conference meets 19 – 20 September at for college and university Woodlands Hall in Ruthin. students, postgraduates and hands on the latest technology. Group. Activities will focus on (£250 RFS members/£275 recent graduates, to expose Moulton College, Northampton ‘edge tools in the woods’ and non-members). Gavin Munro’s the coming generation to top NN3 7SY, £12 includes lunch. welcomes coppice workers ‘Grading and Measuring level speakers and the give www.rfs.org.uk/events/future- and green woodworkers to Your Timber’ course on 21 them a chance to get their foresters/ demonstrations and ‘have a go’ September at Whitney Sawmill sessions. There will be felling, in Hereford appears to be sold CoPPiCeRs uNite! hewing and coppicing with out, but do double check. Prof The National Coppice axes, crosscut saws, tool sales, a Julian Evans (see article p 8) will Federation Weekend Gathering great atmosphere, food and be teaching ‘Essential Guide to 99% and AGM convenes 21/22 a cash bar, but most of all, OF A MATURE, DORMANT Caring for Your Wood’ (£55 RFS TREE IS MADE UP OF October at Ruskin Mill College there will be billhooks. £35 members/£65 non-members) INACTIVE STRUCTURAL in the lovely Horsley Valley in members of affiliated groups, on 27 September at St Mary’s CELLS Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, £50 non-members, £28 Hall, Overton, Hants, which will hosted by the Avon and coppice apprentices. include a tour of Northdown South Cotswolds Coppice www.ncfed.org.uk

Living Woods 3 NEWS

@Woodland News

2017 WoodLaNd aWaRds dedicated national survey about MARK YOUR DIARY FAIR A new set of annual awards our woodlands and forestry. D The Tree Council has plans was launched this year, The British Woodlands Survey for you. Seed Gathering Y WOO Y LE sponsored by woodlands.co.uk, 2017 is led by researchers T Season begins on the autumn EN to recognise and celebrate the from Forest Research, the /B equinox, 23 September, and ESSE

accomplishments, innovations Sylva Foundation, University H ends a month later. National HN

and expertise of Britain’s of Oxford and the Woodland JO Tree Week, 25 November – 3 woodland practitioners and Trust. Dr Gabriel Hemery, BENTLEY WOOD FAIR December, is the UK’s largest champions. Nominations closed Chief Executive of the Sylva tree celebration, taking place at the end of July, judging is Foundation, says, ‘We’ve worked MORE THAN at the beginning of the winter now taking place and we really hard this year to create 150 EXHIBITORS tree-planting season. Events await announcement of the a survey which explores issues AND DEMONSTRATORS are unfolding all over the awards later this month with of high interest to woodland BENTLEY WILDFOWL & country or you can create eager anticipation. For news owners and foresters. Hundreds MOTOR MUSEUM your own, perhaps inspired as it breaks: www.woodlands. of people took part in early 15 - 17 SEPTEMBER by concepts from past years. co.uk/awards/woodlands- phases to help identify priority LEWES, EAST SUSSEX Use the online tool to locate awards-2017/ or join the mailing themes. Now we hope that WWW.BENTLEY.ORG.UK/ events near you and to gather list: [email protected]. anyone with an interest in our EVENTS inspiration. www.treecouncil. trees, woodlands and forestry org.uk. National Tree Week is 2017 BRitish WoodLaNds practice will be keen to take BRooKhouse Wood WiLL also when the 10 Tree Charter suRvey Needs you part. After all, our aim is to give RetuRN Poles, one for each of the 10 Don’t let your voice go unheard. a voice to every person, not just Will St Clair, who usually Principles of the Charter, will As someone who cares the powerful few, in shaping the graces these pages with his be unveiled across the UK. about the future of Britain’s future of British forestry.’ Go to Brookhouse Wood column, This autumn is a great time for woodlands, you can help shape sylva.org.uk/bws2017 before is busy in the woods and will trees. treecharter.uk the future of forestry in the UK the end of September and have return in the Living Woods by taking part in Britain’s only your say. December issue. FoRest BathiNG With the FoRestRy CommissioN Does strolling in woodlands improve your health? The Japanese think so. Their term for this simple activity is ‘shinrin HIGH SOCIETY LADIES yoku’, invented in the early ‘80s. ow we missed Jochen In English it is known as ‘forest H bathing’. Beginning this month Women in trees we’ll the Forestry Commission is never know. It is a offering Forest Bathing in two charming collection of of its Forest Holiday locations, historical amateur photos Blackwood Forest in Hampshire of tree-climbing females and Thorpe Forest in Norfolk. that became an immediate The three-hour sessions (£30) bestseller. Now Raiss are led by Forest Rangers who returns with more nimble are qualified Forest Therapy ladies from his collection Guides. www.forestholidays. assembled over 25 years. co.uk Be sure not to miss more Women in trees, pub Correction: month. www.hatjecantz.de In our last issue, we rechristened Julia Goodfellow-Smith’s husband as ‘Matthew’ (View Through the Woods, p 10). His name is Mike. Apologies.

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Living Woods 5

Williamson Wood Dinnant Wood Delph Wood Sledge Wood Norton Wood Zion Wood Nr. Coldridge Powys Nr. Sissinghurst Grotaig Devon North Wales Yorkshire Kent Wiltshire Inverness-shire £29,000 £39,000 £39,000 £75,000 £55,000 £29,000 VIEW THROUGH THE TREES

The Kindest Cuts New owner Julia Goodfellow-Smith discovers that woodland conservation can require radical decisions

was shocked. I held onto the car and H IT M breathed deeply, determined not to be -S W overwhelmed. 70%. We knew we needed O

to thin our trees and create glades in DFELL

our woodland, but had no idea of the IA GOO UL Imagnitude of the task. J Our trees have been growing for 60 years. It feels wrong to take the life of these beautiful trees, to change the nature of this beautiful woodland. I don’t want to do it, but I know why we must. Most of our beech trees are the same age and there’s little diversity in this part of the wood. This increases the future risk of clearfelling, of disease wiping out the whole woodland and also of concentrating the effects of climate change in our woodland – beech is not expected to fare well. We need to be strong and think of the future. ’Our mentor from the Royal Forestry Society – part of the year’s free membership offered through woodlands.co.uk – has helped us to develop a strategy for managing the woods. We know how to choose the trees to keep and those to fell. We know how much we need to do and how to spread the work out. It will feel radical, but will benefit the life of the woodland H IT as a whole, as well as providing a source of M -S W timber. O We have pests that we need to control if we DFELL want the next generation of trees to grow tall, IA GOO

straight and strong. Grey squirrels and Muntjac UL We will fell and we will J deer were not here when the trees were planted, “ and where there is regeneration, the damage kill. We will try to do is evident. As with the felling, it feels wrong to both with respect and take the life of these animals, but we have to do The beeches to be thinned, the consolation something if our woodlands are to survive. humanity. of outdoor cooking For the sake of the woodland and conservation of biodiversity, we will fell and we We have cleared a path to our camp, our pit will kill. We will try to do both with respect and latrine is dug and surrounded by dead-hedging humanity. And I will certainly do both with a and our social area is almost ready for guests. heavy heart. We have cooked over our fire pit and enjoyed But it’s not all doom and gloom. In the numerous cups of tea, alone and with friends. woodland, I mainly feel deeply calm and happy. I Over the last few months, I have spent a lot have slept under the trees, gently swinging in a of time looking at our changing view through hammock, bathed in birdsong. the trees. During this period, it has become I have heard a butterfly’s wing-beat for the darker as the leaves have fully unfurled and the first time and revelled in the exuberance of responsibility of our guardianship has become life, particularly where the trees cast less shade. clear. But it continues to fill me with joy, and I have even marvelled at the stripy belly of a JULIA with a profound sense of peace. We are still mosquito that was trying to bite me through living our dream. my trousers. GOODFELLOW-SMITH www.questforfuturesolutions.co.uk

Living Woods 7

INTERVIEW

Can you really PLANT A WOODLAND? Living Woods poses the question to Julian Evans, retired professor of forestry, author and woodland owner

iving Woods : Right now, everyone is But what we actually know from ecology planting trees: the Forestry Commission is that the actual importance of ‘native’ or of course, the UN, the Woodland ‘not native’ is relatively minor in terms of LTrust, Sylva Foundation, the Mayor of biodiversity compared with making sure London, countless volunteer and community you’ve got structure. That is, that you’ve got woodlands. With what we’re beginning to very old trees, that you’ve got very young understand, we know there is a big leap trees, deadwood, that you’ve got glades as from planting trees to creating a woodland well as dark areas, that you’ve got traditional or a forest. Professor, is it possible to plant a management. Whether it’s actually a native forest? tree delivering the variety or an exotic is actually relatively unimportant. Julian Evans: Why is there a big leap from Ideally, of course, go for the native, planting a tree to planting a forest? It is but all the studies have been done with because the act of planting a tree is only one conifer plantations, which are non-native, element of what a forest ecosystem has. It is a Nevertheless if you grow some of the trees very easy thing to do, to put the trees in. What to old age, to biological maturity, and you’ve is much harder to do is to create all that a got the glades and so on, you can massively forest soil environment is: the seeds that have increase the biodiversity in those ways. accumulated, the micro-organisms, its other LW Right now there’s a spate of enthusiasm has developed over many hundreds of years. for planting trees. If we need diversity of ages, You can’t suddenly replicate that by planting won’t we need another spate of enthusiasm in a tree. What planting a tree does is initiate the 10 or 20 years? process but does not bring you the end result. But you can create a very simple kind of JE You say there’s a spate of planting trees, forest by simply putting in trees, because you but actually the opposite is happening. In are adding a third dimension to the structure. terms of meeting t he government’s target of planting many millions of trees a year, it added a third dimension. is not being met, particularly in England. In terms of the forest industries in this country, NE A

LW: If it were your goal not just to plant trees, we are seriously worried about the decline in L FAR

but to created a native woodland, would you conifer planting, because there’s been huge C have to choose native species? investment in saw mills, in board mills, in M HN

other processing plant, but the forecast now / JO N IO

JE: I’m hesitant on that. Yes, of course, if is that over the next 20 years there’ll be a SS I you’re trying to create a native woodland in declining supply coming from UK forests MM this country, which is what we’re used to from because of the massive amount of planting in TRY CO TRY medieval times. the 70s, 80s, 90s, which has tailed off hugely ES FOR

8 Living Woods Can you really PLANT A WOODLAND? NE A L FAR C M HN / JO N IO SS I MM Planting broadleaves on a

TRY CO TRY new native woodland site ES above Loch Katrine FOR

Living Woods 9 INTERVIEW

in the last 10, 15, 20 years. LW: To create a wooded place with all the There’s been an increase in broadleaf complexities of planting and soil. planting, which is really good news, particularly in the lowlands, but there’s this JE: That will take hundreds of years to imbalance now between what is being planted recreate. Perhaps you’ll never be able to get commercially and what is planted for aesthetic back to truly ancient woodland, the soil that and amenity objectives. in the last thousands of years has never been The Woodland Trust and a lot of ploughed, never been sprayed, etc, etc. But organisations are pushing tree planting and obviously just by planting trees, straightaway there is a lot of tree planting going ahead. But you’re creating some structure. So you’re if you look at the actual government targets, altering the humidity, the temperature, the of what the government would like to see in environment and so on. You’re beginning that this country and what is actually happening, process. they’re quite far apart. Back in the 1970’s and ‘80s, I was working in south Wales, where a lot of our afforestation LW: For readers of Living Woods who may sites were restored open-cast spoil. Now you want to extend a woodland that already exists, were beginning with no soil at all. If you walk around some of those areas that were planted in agricultural use and trying to return it to the ‘70s and ‘80s today, you’ve still got pretty woodland? lousy soil formation, but you’ve got larch JE: Without a doubt. If you’ve got a bit of woodland on your land that has been there plants in these woodlands and to all intents for some time, ideally never been under the and purposes for people walking through them, plough, never been grazed, expand on that, they’re like a woodland. They’re certainly yes. Provide the connectivity, put in your new more diverse than they were in the past. planting, with your native species right next to it, so that you get some sort of corridor effect, LW: When you are looking at a properly or an opportunity for plants to spread into it, for wildlife to start colonising it. that there’s a relationship between the trees, Retain all existing woodland you’ve got on a patch of land. If you are presented with a bare pattern? are a few things you can do to help. But that’s a much, much longer-term thing. JE: If you look at the ecology of this country, and you try to establish what would have been LW: How long? 100 years? the natural population of shrubs and trees on the different sorts of sites, the different soils, JE: the different climates, that you’ve got in the creating a forest. Doesn’t it? groupings. And that’s all been done in a work N IO SS

I

MM the NVC. So what an owner would do, reading an TRY CO TRY ES article in Living Woods, is to say, ‘Right, I’ve FOR got this piece of land, with a patch of woodland on it, and I want to build on that.’ Let’s that area is and then use that as the end result of where you want your woodland to get to. natural woodland that would develop on that site. Now, we British are great ones for introducing trees from all over the world in our wonderful arboreta, our great country parks, our private estates full of exotic things from all around the world, if that’s the direction they want to go. The benefit of managed As important as planting is, in most woodland: thinning of mature alder creates dappled shade woodlands, most owners of small, new

10 Living Woods INTERVIEW woodlands won’t need to do any planting. Their main problem isn’t planting. Their PROTECTING YOUNG TREES main problem is thinning and opening up and introducing light, but that’s another article. N IO SS We in Britain have the mindset that if you I cut a tree down you must plant one. If you MM are thinning woods, opening them up, you are CO TRY ES

increasing the biodiversity in all those options. FOR It’s only when you start clearing an area, or you deliberately want to create the regeneration process, that you want to start planting trees. So in one sense, there is too much stress on tree planting.

LW: Would you like to see more woodlands in management?

JE: Very much so. The ideal would be for all woodlands to be in management. Neglect really does no great service to biodiversity and wildlife, unless you’re talking about ancient woodland that has not been managed for hundreds if not thousands of years. Then it’s got a particular ecology of it own, but all woodlands in Britain have had some management, whether it’s coppicing or pollarding, or planting, thinning and felling. Much of the biodiversity we love so much, the bluebells, the primroses that come up, is because of the coppice system. Woodlands should be managed. It’s good to be sentimental about trees, but it’s not good to assume that trees should never be cut down. It’s a real challenge. You’ve got to hold two quite contrary views at the same time: you’ve really got to be sentimental about British oak, British invention: a trees, care for the ones that are important four-year-old oak protected by a Graham Tuley tree shelter and all the rest of it, but at the same time don’t be so sentimental that you can’t cut them down. Because the greatest disservice ‘Another element of planting trees in this country is that you have to protect you’re often doing to many woodlands and them against rabbit and particularly against deer. We have more deer in Britain wildlife is not cutting a tree down. It’s kind of right now that we have had for a thousand years. So deer are a big problem. counterintuitive. ‘For somebody with a small woodland reading Living Woods, you’d have to supply tree protection. Plastic shelters are as good as anything. And you know LW: So by cutting down some trees, that they’re a British invention! Graham Tuley worked opposite me in my research is, by managing woodland, you are actually station. His first experiment was in 1978 and we all laughed at him, thinking encouraging biodiversity. And if you want that when the sun came out the following year, that inside these plastic sleeves to create something that can be enjoyed as a the temperature would rise so much that the tree would die. He was using woodland, planting trees is a good plan, but oak trees. The temperature certainly did rise into the 90s Farenheit and 30s only if you’ve got time ahead of you. centigrade, but because of the humidity and because of the loss of heat from the leaf surface, the leaf itself was not cooked and the tree grew rather well. And in JE: It only takes an enormous amount of the second year, some of these oaks were growing a metre! And it was amazing! time if you’re wanting to get back to near The effect of these tree shelters in all the early research was that it protected a pristine forest. But if you’re wanting a the tree really well and it told you where the tree had been planted so you wooded area that ‘feels’ like a forest, that is didn’t lose them in amongst all the other vegetation. And it accelerated the entirely possible. By planting trees, you’re height growth. It got the trees above browse height more rapidly. It’s not meant beginning a process. If your take-home that they actually grew faster for all of their life, but it got them growing. Now message is that you can’t plant a forest the plastic tree shelters are used all over the world.’ overnight, that’s a good take-home message. But if you want to begin the process, plant Julian Evans currently chairs the Forestry Commission’s Expert some trees on bare land. Committee on Forest Science.

Living Woods 11 MANAGEMENT

Planting for IMMORTALITY

The extraordinary Felix Dennis sowed an ambitious legacy, the Heart of England Forest, by Charlotte Fleming

elix Dennis will be remembered by setting of Golden Square, Soho, that Dennis those of a certain age as one of the three discovered his passion for trees. Four publishers of Oz magazine prosecuted hornbeams caught his eye one chilly day and Ffor ‘conspiracy to corrupt public morals’. he was hooked. As he wrote in the preface to (In photos, he’s the one with the beard and Silva: The Tree in Britain by Archie Miles: moustache.) He founded a publishing empire ‘Before then trees to me were part of the that included Maxim, Personal Computer scenery, something to climb, shelter under or World, Fortean Times and The Week, wrote and used to build houses, boats and furniture. All performed poetry, and planted trees. that changed that early January morning. Their That notorious trial may have killed Oz branches reached out to me, swaying slightly, magazine, but Dennis’s publishing career was snow resting in every nook of their skeleton just getting started. He was quick to spot and the dark boughs glistening. From that day trends and create publications that catered on I became obsessed by trees.’ to them, launching the magazine Kung-Fu His tree-planting began at his estate in Monthly Warwickshire, when he created a woodland Enter the Dragon wind-break to protect his sculpture garden. year. Dennis was a successful early entrant Discovering that England has one tenth of the average European plantings of broadleaf among them home electronics, lads’ mags and woodland, he decided to do something to digital publications. redress the balance. Being a man of great As well as publishing others’ words, Dennis T

ES

books about how to get rich as well as a dozen FOR ND volumes of poetry. He wrote, he said, ‘To A NGL E

discover who I am, to escape the carapace F ART O ART E

to stave off a predilection for other addictions H HE T

and, primarily, to experience the sheer joy of F Y O

weaving words to shape ideas.’ ES RT His outsized personality found a home on U stage, as he loved performing his poetry to a CO I Mention The Free Wine?’ (the audience recited his poetry), while ‘The Cut-Throat cancer that was to kill him in 2014. It was in London, in the grimy urban Autumn in the Forest

12 Living Woods MANAGEMENT Y H RAP G OTO PH T GH WRI E OTT L AR H C

The late Felix Dennis at home in Warwickshire T

ES ambition and, by then, great wealth, Dennis contractors, corporate groups and volunteers.

FOR didn’t envision a mere 20 or 100 acres. He Dennis didn’t want wall-to-wall trees and ND A wanted a forest that would cover the whole the forest is anything but a plantation in the NGL E

F heart of England, 30,000 acres from the Forest modern sense of the word (dark, single-species of Arden to the Vale of Evesham. So he started and wildlife-free). This woodland is designed ART O ART E

H buying land and planting trees. From that day on I to encourage biodiversity, with wide rides and HE T F Originally called the Forest of Dennis, it’s “ became obsessed by trees Y O

ES now known as the Heart of England Forest birds, mammals, insects and fungi can all RT U and is a registered charity whose Chair is the CO broadcaster Jon Snow. The woodland currently and grassland, to provide as many habitats as covers around 3,500 acres, and the charity possible. Not all parts of the Forest will be manages a further 2,500 acres (including planted on a massive scale: smaller sections mature and ancient woodland) that were left will serve as links between larger blocks, to the charity when Dennis died in 2014. The allowing wildlife to move around the country charity aims to plant 300 acres a year. So far, safely. 1.6 million trees and several miles of hedges The trees are all native species appropriate have been planted by staff, professional to the area and the soil. Most are planted to

Living Woods 13 MANAGEMENT T ES FOR ND A NGL E F ART O ART E H HE T F Y O ES RT U CO

A young area of the Heart of England Forest

mimic nature, in a random pattern of mixed and the Forest has become a useful resource varieties, though there are some coppice for teaching young people the importance of blocks. The charity has its own tree nursery respecting it. and uses local seed whenever possible. They The question on the cover of this issue is ‘Is it really possible to plant a woodland?’ limited success. Nowadays nature is left to ‘Of course!’ was Toby Fisher’s response. He take her course wherever possible, though is the Heart of England Forest’s Community they will help vulnerable species when they The whole thing is like can. For instance, dormice were introduced like a jigsaw puzzle, and we are gradually “ into one ancient woodland in 2012. They are a jigsaw puzzle, and we classed as ‘rare and vulnerable to extinction’ whole lifecycle of the forest, from volunteers are gradually flling the and introducing them into a new area will help gathering and planting local provenance seeds picture, piece by piece make the dormouse population slightly safer such as acorns, nurturing the saplings in our tree by giving it space to increase. The Forest’s nursery, planting new trees, and watching them grow to join up with our mature and ancient with the March Lepidoptera Award from woodlands to improve biodiversity and the value of the forest for both people and wildlife.’ Stratford Ramblers also awarded the Forest He invites all Living Woods Magazine readers ‘Footpath of the Year’ in 2015. There are now to visit the Forest and see for themselves how it six mapped walks around the various sections has developed and will continue to do so. Better of the Forest and the Heart of England Way still, consider volunteering on one of the regular long-distance path runs through it. Plans for tree-planting days. the future include bike trails, woodland play To quote Dennis, again from his preface to Silva: The Tree in Britain, ‘Nothing in the the now-separate patches of woodland join up, world gives me greater pleasure than to lay more walking trails will be created, carefully hands on a young sapling planted a few years ago, imagining the day it will reach maturity, Interest and protected-species habitats. its roots nourishing the earth, its leaves Education is one of the organisation’s shading the ground, its fruits feeding wildlife charitable objectives. School parties from and its beauty freezing the hearts of humans Heart of England Forest: both rural and urban communities already yet to be born.’ The Heart of England Forest is www.heartofenglandforest.com make regular visits to learn how nature works

14 Living Woods MAPPING T ES FOR ND A NGL E F ART O ART E H HE T

F Put your woodland on the map Y O ES RT

U What does it take for the Ordnance Survey team to take notice? CO

e ran into Dan the other day, an old friend, tree IA 072/17

propagator and secret tree ED Y. M Y. VE

planter. ‘I have a story for R U you!’ he said. ‘A friend of S NCE mine wanted to give his wife a really special A

DN R

W O gift. So he bought half a hectare of land and planted it up with native broadleaf species. Then T 2017

he went to the Ordnance Survey people and GH

registered it in her name – Caroline’s Copse – OPYRI C and it’s on their maps now.’ WN )CRO C ‘Why half a hectare?’ ( ‘It’s the minimum size required by Ordnance Survey for a feature to appear on one of their maps,’ he explained confidently. We loved the story. But the half a hectare thing got us thinking. And is it really possible to have a small, private woodland marked on an OS map? feature that is already well-known wouldn’t Keegan Wilson, from the Ordnance Survey be expected. After all, most of the woodland press office, was terrifically helpful. He told us, names on OS mapping would have been ‘We do not have a minimum size for a name confirmed through conversations with local per se, but we do have minimum size for landowners, parish officials and clergymen when topographic real world features, such as an area As far as we’re aware, the mapping was first created 150+ years ago. of vegetation. Assuming this query refers to a “ We expect a lot of 100ha woods are already rural environment, an area of woodland would there are no restrictions named, e.g. plantations in the New Forest, so need to have a minimum area of 0.1 hectares on members of the we would require evidence of the new name and a minimum width of 10m to be captured in existing,’ said Keegan. OS large-scale mapping. Once an area meets public naming features, What sort of proof would be required that a the size to be captured, we can then capture a including woodland, woodland had a name? Would a photo of a sign name for it, if one exists. that are privately suffice? ‘Note - our data capture rules do not allow all ‘For long-standing features in the public features to be named and we do require evidence owned domain, e.g. named woodlands with large that the name exists. For vegetation features, permanent signs, visual evidence of the sign is we require the topographic area to be captured enough. However, for privately owned features, before capturing a name, but within the limits of including woodlands, written evidence from our specification, we capture names for a diverse the owner or a recognised agent is normally range and size of feature types (from buildings to acceptable. Where the owner of a private forests to ponds, waterfalls and rivers). Whether dwelling or his agent is not readily accessible, the name is depicted in OS mapping depends on the evidence of the occupier may be accepted. the type and scale of the product. However, most If there is any difference of opinion on the names captured in large-scale data are published name, we’d also require documentary evidence in OS MasterMap Topography Layer as text.’ from others to help resolve the conflict. To Which led to more questions. Could someone Would you like a custom meet requirements for OS mapping, we’d fence off an area of a large, say 100ha woodland, made map centred on your expect a name to be permanent – defined as name it and hope to register it with OS? woodland or another feature? being or likely to be in existence for more than ‘As far as we’re aware, there are no This is the place to order: 10 years.’ restrictions on members of the public naming www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ So there you have it. A woodland as small as features, including woodland, that are privately shop/custom-made-maps.html 0.1ha and 10m wide might be large enough to owned, with the caveat that renaming a appear on an OS map.

Living Woods 15 COPPICING SCOTL AND’S LOST COPPICE Torquil Varty on a new endeavour to restore coppicing to a country that had nearly forgotten the art

ate Late Bronze Age weapons discovery the local coppicer produced charcoal and hazel hurdles to pen in animals. This cycle of headlines last February. A 3,000-year- production remained unchanged for centuries. Lold bronze sword had been uncovered during The symbiotic relationship between humans council excavations in Carnoustie, and and their woodland is something to look back underneath it was a well-preserved wooden on with envy, especially as we enter into scabbard made of hazel. Clearly the scabbard potentially unstable times for our landscape had to be straight and clean-grained – a with globalisation spreading tree disease at a coppice-managed ‘riven’ hazel stick would terrifying rate. have been ideal – supporting the belief that A tipping point for change occurred in Scotland had had its own hazel coppice the historic coppice world in the 1800s. As tradition for thousands of years. industrialisation took hold, coppice gradually The state of active hazel coppice in Scotland declined throughout the country until well into became bleak in the 20th century. By 1996 the mid-20th century when coppice of any there was a near 99% absence of hazel from scale was pretty much restricted to the south of all but the steepest, deepest native wooded England. riversides or dens. Now a new effort is The traditions of industrialised coppice had underway to restore the nation’s coppicing spread to the north and west relatively late. traditions. A case in point is Angus in northeast Large areas of oak in central and western The basic feature of a coppiced wood is century to satisfy the demands of tanneries for that it is cut down low to the ground and trees oak bark and of ironworks for charcoal. are allowed to regrow from the cut stumps. As the country committed itself to The word coppice is derived from the French widespread deforestation to feed its growing ‘couper’ meaning ‘to cut’. A hazel woodland industries – and its growing workforce – more would be divided into seven sections, each and more land was converted to farmland. section to be cut in seven consecutive winters. Eventually the majority of coppice was The names given to these sections differs consigned to history and was either replaced in throughout the country and include cant, the mid 20th century by the conifer factories coupe, burrow and the Scottish term hagg. we see today, or simply neglected. From the early Middle Ages to the late 19th But changes are beginning to stir. As part century, most woodland in lowland England of the Angus Millennium Forest (AMF) led was coppiced, either in a ‘simple’ coppice, a by urban forester Fred Conacher, a three- monoculture of either hazel or sweet chestnut, year project was initiated with the planting of or a coppice with standards of semi-mature around 6,335 hazel whips. Over the following or mature oak or, in some instances, ash, 10 years an additional 11,245 whips were providing substantial timber for construction planted, creating two 100% hazel woodlands, purposes. The standards would have been but with no real means or knowledge of harvested over a long cycle, between 25 and 40 years, whereas the hazel was usually coup, or hagg, was cut. A seven-year cycle coppiced over seven years. It is this latter was established and hazel is once again being coppice with standards that would have been produced in Angus, albeit on a small scale. the most prevalent across the British Isles. The rise in community woodland activity Coppice products were integral to all facets brings interest in resurrecting neglected of medieval village life. Many buildings coppice or the establishment of new coppice. were constructed using wattle and daub, and Though this newfound enthusiasm is to be

16 Living Woods COPPICING

embraced, it must be also tempered with economic reality. It is a hard business to make coppicing pay as a lot of the traditional products and crafts that were supplied with hazel are in decline. Nowadays, we must look at environmental paying for. Coppicing open woodland creates conditions suitable for many plants, insects and is dependent upon a return to more traditional methods of managing woodland. Birds such as new coppice and would increase in number if conditions prevailed. As farmers receive subsidies dependent upon environmental impact, so perhaps the coppice worker should become eligible for subsidy. The establishment of a coppice takes time and commitment and should be seen as a generational project. Although many volunteer groups will have an abundance of enthusiasm in the short term, it will only be additional funding of professionals that will provide the longevity Coppice plots in the required to re-launch a dormant industry. Angus Millennium Forest As humankind persists in its relentless pursuit of progress, the time of the coppice worker has perhaps a limited shelf life. Though with priorities shifting and the importance of forest schooling gaining Scotland had had its momentum across Scotland, future coppice “ may be utilised as tomorrow’s classroom. own hazel coppice Coppice products are, after all, the ultimate tradition for thousands renewable commodity. If society can of years wean itself off cheap imports with a high carbon footprint, then maybe the new hazel plantations of Forfar can be a blueprint for other parts of Scotland.

For more info:Coppiced woodlands: their management for wildlife by R J Fuller & M S Warren is available as a free download from DEFRA, http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-2640’ Fred Conacher Council, [email protected] To support coppice industries: coppice-products.co.uk Torquil Varty is a professional hedgelayer and fencing contractor and is the Northern Scotland agent for woodlands.co.uk.

Living Woods 17 AXE & TOOL HEAVEN Axes & other cool tools from Gränsfors Bruk Leonard Müller

Chisels & other tools from Other stuff, including Robert Sorby String Lines Henry Taylor Sharpening supplies Japan Books Barr Tools Mini chainsaw discs Lie-Nielson Carving tools Toolworks Rasps

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Sharing experience and knowledge among woodand owners. Join free today. Email [email protected]

18 Living Woods FORESTS

Haunting Celtic Rainforests Y ENNE G D I V DA

Atlantic hazel growing over a boulder

cotland’s hazel story is not restricted to Y the long term, the Atlantic hazel needs ENNE

the coppiced hazel that was lost. Away G protection from coppicing. Sometimes the D I from Angus and over to the west coast V best management advice for any woodland DA Sthere is the little-known ‘Celtic rainforest’. is to leave it well alone and let nature take The haunting Atlantic hazel woods are one its course. of Scotland’s most ancient woodlands. It is – Torquil Varty believed that when the last ice age receded more than 10,000 years ago, hazel was one For more information: the west coast and there they have remained. Atlantic Hazel Action Group: sites. The hazel forests are older than the Atlantic google.com/site/atlantichazelgroup oak woods and older than some of the Caledonian pine woods. Hazel gloves fungus (Hypocreopsis These hazels have never been coppiced, rhododendri)

yet retain the multi-stemmed shape of their Y

coppiced kin. In Coppins and Coppins’s ENNE G D I

study of Atlantic hazel, they state, ‘Hazel V is essentially a light-demanding pioneer DA species that will invade open ground and form self-perpetuating, pure, dense stands grazing and certainly in the absence of coppicing.’ These Atlantic hazel woods form a distinct habitat of high conservation value, home to many rare fungi, moss and lichen. In Tree lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria) grows on large, old hazel stems

Living Woods 19 WILD FOOD

The best of the foraging season is here. Our shortlist of must-have books, websites and apps will have you dining out in autumn’s abundance.

20 Living Woods WILD FOOD CK STO BE O AD / M I E A H N O M A R ©

Living Woods 21 T

FORAGING GH WRI HN Dining JO OUT Five starter guides to identify, harvest and prepare woodland edibles

Book the others. You can hear people from across Food for Free southern England (the searchable map helps by Richard Mabey (HarperCollins) pinpoint voices from your area) describe their own foraging experiences. ‘David’ on disgusting Food for Free is the classic what, where, why, when wartime nettle root coffee will save us all the and how of foraging in the UK, the best friend of trouble and ‘Brian’ on his father’s find of a patch both converts and the wild food curious since of mushrooms ‘like a cobbled path’ is a delight. 1972. On its 40th anniversary – Food for Free Good recipes are mainly contributed by users has never been out of print since its publication of the site, with a page for you to add your own. – it re-emerged from the publishing house in And it’s all free. two versions, an update of the original pocket- friendly Collins Gem edition and a weightier, App more detailed and wider-ranging hardback Foraging apps seem to appear and disappear edition. More than 200 species of wild foods with the regularity of the seasons, but one are identified across the seasons, including fruit, caught our eye for walkers and keen cooks. berries, leaves, flowers and even some shellfish Kieran Creevy is a professional chef, forager and as, Mabey says, ‘From a picker’s perspective, they explorer. In partnership with Viewranger, the are more like plants than animals.’ Recipes and online and offline route map and GPS people, ruminations galore. and Sidetracked magazine, Creevy has devised four walks in Wales to lead you to nature’s larder Book and App and has supplied recipes to create a feast in the Mushrooms: A comprehensive guide to mushroom wilderness – or back in your own kitchen. Go identification to www.viewranger.com/en-gb, then find the by Roger Phillips (Macmillan) blogpost for April 2016 and lace up your boots.

More than thirty years of research and study Book are here in this 400-page bible of mushroom Hedgerow (River Cottage Handbook No 7) identification. Mushrooms features more than by John Wright 1,250 superb photographs depicting mushrooms in various stages of growth, concise descriptions The River Cottage Handbook series is a super and up-to-date information on endangered addition to the genre, and this portable volume species. Phillips has dedicated his life to the study is a good one to tuck into your rucksack for of plants both wild and of the garden variety foraging not only in hedgerows but in meadows, and is able to distil his encyclopaedic knowledge OTO moors and woodlands too. It covers 50 species PH

into language for the interested amateur. He is CK and offers 30 recipes, but Wright’s friendly,

widely known for his appearances on Radio 4 Y STO chatty, expert tone makes this a fine companion M A

and BBC television shows, as well as for leading AL for even experienced foragers. There’s a good / N merry foraging adventures at festivals and events. A section on kit. The illustrations are strong on

Available in portable Kindle format. An app is FFM showing the edibles in situ and the chapter HO available at rogersmushroomsapp.com. N on poisonous plants is a really useful first stop.

BRIA Check out John Wright’s books in the same Website Blackberries are one of series on Mushrooms, Edible Seashore and the great fruits of late Hedgerow Harvest summer and autumn Booze. The Tree Council sponsors www. hedgerowharvest.org.uk, a very good starter foraging website that offers seasonal guides to Disclaimer: It is vitally important that you correctly identify what you are wild harvests, excellent general tips and good picking and follow an experienced guide if you are not a seasoned forager. foraging practice. The ‘oral histories’ recordings You eat foraged plants at your own risk. are where this website sets itself apart from

22 Living Woods T GH WRI HN JO

Forager’s kit: boxwood berry-picker, knife, scissors, drainpipe picker and stick with crooked end, from Hedgerow (River Cottage Handbook, No 7) by John Wright

Living Woods 23 VOLUNTEERING GI VE AND LEARN Mark Papworth’s years as a conservation volunteer have given him woodland expertise – and a circle of friends

henever I look into my diary, there, woods without disturbing them, and summer, locked into every Thursday, are when they are nesting and coppicing isn’t two words: Knettishall Heath. allowed. Winter was the best time, although KnettishallW Heath is a 430-acre mixed habitat sadly today its duration is much shorter than nature reserve with river meadows, heathland when I began. and woodland, owned and managed by the Through BTCV I met Rob Sowter, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Every Thursday I am woodsman whose soul lived in the woods there as a conservation volunteer. This is the where he tried to be at every opportunity. I story of what conservation volunteering has assisted Rob as he developed a commercial given me, and what others might gain from the coppicing business (Croydon Charcoal) and Breckland heathland, rare habitat at experience. with him I honed my under-woodsman skills Knettishall Heath, Suffolk Wildlife Eleven years ago, I took early retirement and saw the coppicing cycle from one year to Trust another. Eventually I found myself unable to a small business (see box). But it is a solitary physically keep up with Rob’s ambitions, and and sedentary occupation, involving long hours reduced my regular commitment to ad hoc spent at a workbench with only the dog and support. radio for company. I needed something else, But I had not fallen out of love with something with social contact and physical conservation volunteering. Even while working challenge. I had always loved the countryside, with BTCV and Croydon Charcoal, I had so decided to see what volunteering volunteered at green spaces on the London- opportunities might lie there. Surrey-Kent border which are owned by the

The British Trust for Conservation City of London and managed as ‘breathing H ORT

Volunteers (BTCV) – now The Conservation spaces’ for local people, wildlife and plants. W AP P

Volunteers (TCV) – near my home gave me my As well as coppicing, the volunteers there K

undertook activities like litter-picking, path MAR together a wide variety of people with varying clearance, bench maintenance and perennial interests and needs to work as a subcontracted tasks like ragwort pulling. Dog walkers labour force to local landowners and represented a large proportion of the ‘public’, authorities. Payment to BTCV funded ongoing so maintaining good fences and hedges was work by the team. This volunteering model always a priority, and that provided me the meant that we worked over a wide geographic chance to learn the art of hedgelaying. area, visiting a particular site only once or Seeking a more rural life, my wife and I twice a year. moved to a small northwest Suffolk village, I certainly got the physical exercise and which brought me to nearby Knettishall Heath interaction with people that I was looking and my unbreakable Thursday commitment. for. I also learned a whole host of hand tool Knettishall has been a public open space for skills such as how to use a billhook and bow many years, acquired by the Suffolk Wildlife saw safely, and I learned to drive the BTCV Trust in 2012. Knettishall’s multi-habitat minibus. Perhaps even more importantly, I nature means the management plan has to take learned how to brew up in the woods using a account of many different needs, far more than Kelly kettle. I had experienced before. BTCV volunteers I found that there are really only two seasons In this part of East Anglia, the heathland is enjoying a woodland in the conservation world, winter, when birds referred to as ‘Breckland’ or ‘the Brecks’, and brew up around the Kelly kettle aren’t nesting and we are able to work in the it is quite a rare habitat, whose preservation is

24 Living Woods VOLUNTEERING OTO PH

CK Y STO M A AL / PA FL

important. The open heathland is grazed by a herd of Exmoor ponies, but still requires a lot of work by the volunteers to ensure that it isn’t overrun by trees and other vegetation. About a quarter of the site is woodland (more than 100 acres), primarily pine, oak and silver birch, as well as other species like ash and beech, requiring a heavy programme of winter work in the woods, especially as one of the Trust’s aims is to open up woodland glades and develop the variety of habitat. The Suffolk Wildlife Trust utilises volunteers as an extension of their paid staff so, while hand tools are very much the norm, volunteers are encouraged to use mechanised equipment as well. Some of us are chainsaw operators and others operate the wood chipping equipment or drive tractors. Not only does this add to volunteer satisfaction, but our output is The Trust ethos embraces conservation, public access and learning. Interested volunteers have opportunities to help with the education programme and share their skills with a wider audience. The great virtue of volunteering here is that there is a task for almost anyone willing to give a few hours of their time. There is no requirement to do any particular job, and the Trust makes sure each volunteer’s capabilities and aspirations are catered for. At the outset I wanted two things from conservation volunteering – exercise and social interaction. I certainly get all the exercise I can manage, but it is the friendships I have made over the years that have been even more important to me. Camaraderie comes from working together in the pouring rain, or sweating, pulling ragwort out on the heath under a blazing summer sun. Learning to drive a tractor or gaining a chainsaw licence is the cherry on the cake.

For more info: Knettishall Heath: www.suffolkwildlifetrust. org/knettishallheath White Buffalo Crafts: www. whitebuffalocrafts.com An Exmoor pony, an element of bracken control at Knettishall Heath The Conservation Volunteers: www.tcv.org.uk

Living Woods 25 GREAT STORM

STORM CLEARING

The Great Storm of 1987 cleared the way for new growth at Knole

26 Living Woods GREAT STORM H ART W HO KE /DR MI GES A IM T US R T

Aerial photograph of damage to L A

Knole’s Private Garden and Park, N caused by the Great Storm of 1987. ©NATIO

Living Woods 27 GREAT STORM

hat furious night’ is the name writer ‘We lost 70% of our trees. The wind took out most of the park,’ says Matthew Bennison, dark hours in October, 1987, when estate manager for Knole. ‘A few scarred Tthe most cataclysmic weather for 300 years veterans remained, but in strange, unique battered Europe, killing 18 in Britain, causing shapes.’ Matthew was not on the estate when £1.5b in damage and destroying more than 15m the Great Storm occurred, but said that much trees. When the shaken inhabitants of England of the windthrow was cleared away, some unlatched their doors the following morning, burnt, and some left in situ. ‘Natural England they found an eerily altered landscape, with [overseeing body of Knole park] like natural jagged stumps and upturned root balls where, habitat as it provides a home for all sorts of the day before, landmark trees had stood. beetles, larvae and other insects. At Knole, we Now, 30 years later, foresters and all who have a unique habitat with acidic grassland and care for Britain’s trees and forests have found therefore low nutrients in our soil. The range that the storm brought opportunity as well as destruction, though it took some years to an SSSI.’ appreciate that fact. The storm was a particularly egregious blow Sited in the area worst-hit by the storm, to the late Lionel Sackville-West, the 6th Baron Knole, the historic stately home at Sevenoaks Sackville. A dedicated lover of trees, he had in Kent – and yes, the joke went around the undertaken to plant hundreds of thousands world that morning, that Sevenoaks was of broadleaf trees at Knole and nearby from now ‘Oneoak’, reaching even one of Knole’s 1960 onwards, all of which were wiped out estate workers on holiday in India – suffered in the storm. ‘Blown to matchsticks,’ as one terrible damage. newspaper had it. With great resilience, at H ART W HO KE /DR MI GES A IM T US R T

L A N ©NATIO

Knole’s Park and Private Gardens have been skilfully regenerated

28 Living Woods GREAT STORM

age 74 he began the task of renewing the OTO PH

landscaping and replanting more than a quarter CK

of a million trees, most with his own hands. Y STO M Adhering to the natural, unplanned condition A AL of the park before the storm, Lord Sackville TORY / TORY came to believe that the Great Storm of 1987 S HI L

had been, ‘a good thing, because most of the RA U old trees were past their best. I know it won’t NAT be me who thins these beeches in 20 years or SH MAR so. Nevertheless it gives me great pleasure N O to think what the park will look like in 50 or Y 100 years’ time”. He died in 2004 and Knole passed to a nephew, Robert, now 7th Baron Sackville. ‘The storm made a new canvas for the estate,’ says Matthew. ‘The replanting didn’t follow the exact historic scheme, but the estate planted remaining historic views where it was feasible to reinstate them and it also created new view lines. We mainly planted oak and beech and sweet chestnut trees. No ash at all – a godsend.’ And there was the issue of protecting the trees. ‘From a practical point of view, a 1000- Thirty years of growth: regeneration of side branches from a massive oak, acre deer park and trees don’t go together.’ a victim of the Great Storm of 1987 been fenced in to keep the deer out and tree guards had been employed against smaller As for the larger question of the future pests. These forms of tree protection have now of Britain’s forestry, Matthew shares the been removed. concerns of many. ‘When you speak to other ‘The biggest problem now is squirrels. There stakeholders in the forestry sector, they all say are very few trees at Knole with no damage We lost 70% of our trees. there’s not enough soft woods being planted from squirrels. There is an age when the tree “ and they’re worried about repercussions to the is at its most susceptible, at about the 15 to The wind took out most supply chain. For landowners, with Britain 20 year mark. The squirrels are attracted to of the park outside the EU, I do wonder how it’s going to the sap as it rises, so we manage the squirrel be. I think things will be very interesting going population each year, particularly in the spring. forward.’ No squirrel goes to waste.’ Things have always been ‘very interesting’ Within the vast Knole Park, there is a at Knole, having weathered six centuries that separate, private wooded garden, under included royal upheaval, the rise and fall of different management from the park, where a family fortunes and political alliances and two mile of ragstone fencing encloses 26 acres of world wars, the Great Storm of 1987. Through plantings and walks, reserved for the use of the expert management, foresightedness and some Sackville family and friends for the past 500 good luck, Knole Park is an emblem for the years. Near the great house are the medieval opportunities that can arise from disaster. formal gardens and orchard, rare walled gardens within a walled garden. But beyond those lies an area known as ‘the wilderness’, planted with native and exotic trees. The Knole has been acquired by the National wilderness, too, suffered devastating damage Trust and is open to visitors, with many 30 years ago and has also been thoughtfully events and amenities for rewarding restored, though not many mature trees can yet days out. Consult the website for house be found there. That the planting and planning opening hours and more details. The in the aftermath of the Great Storm has been a Park is open daily from dawn to dusk, success is not in doubt, as visitors to the 1,000- though parking hours are more limited. acre park should judge for themselves. The Private Garden is open one day each ‘We are now selectively – and sensitively – month from spring through autumn. Its thinning woodlands, keeping the best parkland trees in a rolling programme of management,’ 26 September, 11am – 4pm. www. says Matthew. nationaltrust.org.uk/knole

Living Woods 29 ENTERPRISE

BURN ING LOVE

Charcoal is the foundation for A nna and Pete Grugeon’s Bulworthy Project sustainable success

e have been in our woods, 12 acres Courses of mixed Devon woodland, for eight As well as running charcoal making courses, we years now, creating what we call an also host courses on green woodworking and bow experimentW in low-impact living and working. making. When you live in the woods, you have We have found several ways to make a living to bring your social life to you. Running courses from the woods and would like to share a little has introduced us to some fascinating people, of our experience in the hope that it will inspire several of whom are now good friends. And we other woodland enterprises. After all, ‘A wood have gained some great insights about woodland that pays is a wood that stays.’ management and other aspects of our life from a variety of people with different areas of interest Charcoal and expertise. Teaching courses is not an easy option. You earned came from making charcoal. Charcoal was have to be on form. Even though, when teaching only supposed to be a small part of our business, charcoal making, the people on the course do according to our original business plan. Then a lot of the physical work, we are always more we discovered that, although hard work to make, exhausted after teaching charcoal making than charcoal was easy to sell. It became our main if we made the charcoal ourselves. We take the income and still is today. afternoon off just before a course so that we can Most people who like local food like to cook it really give it 100% on the day. over local, restaurant-quality charcoal, given the option, so it sells very well, particularly in farm way to discover more about the subject you are shops that sell meat. Unlike most timber products, teaching. Much of our knowledge of charcoal charcoal doesn’t require straight wood and can be made from wood of any diameter from an inch wide and up. As such, it is an ideal product to produce when thinning a woodland or using Café up offcuts from planking. And environmentally, During the summer, we host Bulworthy Project British charcoal supports habitat management, is free of chemicals and can be lit with some rolled Saturday of the month and take private bookings up paper. for celebrations and club socials at other times. Having honed our skills and streamlined our systems over the last eight years, we can now boost to your social life, but it demands a lot earn £10 per hour. It’s hard to see how you of organising. The kitchen must be registered could ever earn more. We have a large kiln for with Environmental Health. We have a licence charcoal production and a smaller one, with a to sell alcohol, and that has a certain level of much shorter burn time, for teaching charcoal bureaucracy attached. making in a day. Sourcing our food locally from sustainable

30 Living Woods ENTERPRISE

producers – some is foraged on the day for absolute freshness – has built relationships with other local independent businesses, and some of these businesses are the farm shops that now sell our charcoal. We don’t require reservations for the Barbecue turn up until the day. That means we have learned to plan to have enough food, with a strategy in place to use unsold food so that it is not wasted. The number of diners is bound to be affected by the English weather. We have mitigated this by investing in a marquee, meaning that people can always be warm and dry. As a result, we have had some fantastic pop-up restaurant evenings even in a downpour.

Cabin This is our newest venture. Last summer, we built an off-grid cabin for people on our courses and for tourist accommodation. The cabin promises to provide us a reasonably good income without the manual work involved in making charcoal or running courses. It also opens up our woods for others to enjoy. Building the cabin was quite an investment of both time and Although hard work money. We did the work ourselves, which made to make, charcoal“ is easy it cheaper, but it has left us with a debt to pay off. Before getting to the build stage, we had to deal to sell with the planning process and then, of course, building regulations. And there is the issue of the loss of privacy. Clearly, if you want to have your woods all to yourself, don’t build any tourist accommodation in it.

Top: Students learn In addition, we raise chickens and pigs for to load the charcoal kiln. Left: Off-grid our own table, make our own wine, host a forest cabin in the woods, school and have plans to erect a wind turbine a haven for students and travellers. Above: and build a rainwater harvesting system. Our Bulworthy Charcoal, commitment is to sustainable living. bagged for sale. Right: Anna and Pete Gru- These are the ideas that have worked for us. geon on the porch of Every wood and woodland owner is unique and the home they built together. most owners of small woodlands are not looking to make a full time living from their woods, though making a bit of money to cover some of the costs of woodland management is often welcome.

For information on courses, events, charcoal, pop-up café and to book the off-grid cabin: bulworthyproject.org.uk

Living Woods 31 CELEBRATIONS

WOODL AND WEDDINGS

Charlotte Fleming shares her top tips for tying the knot in the forest

ow romantic, to get married in the woods in a woodland in all the vagaries of the British under a tree-cathedral of greenery, your weather. This is not the place for a frock with a Y

guests gathered round you in the dappled 20-foot train. Choose something that won’t snag H RAP Hsunlight and a squirrel peeping at the proceedings on twigs and maybe a pair of snazzy wellies. G from the spreading boughs of an ancient oak. Next, how many people can your wood OTO PH

CK

The reality is that you may have to adjust that accommodate comfortably and safely? How I L picture. In England and Wales you may only have will people reach it? If you’re all coming from R GO C a wedding or Civil Partnership ceremony in a E TT

otherwise people will be coming by car. Think HU /S for weddings. It can be open to the outdoors, about where they can park and whether the D AROY but it has to be permanent. A trellis arbour or parking area will be usable if it’s rained before E L N

treehouse, provided it’s licensed (and a surprising the wedding. Perhaps talk to a local farmer about YA R having a tractor available. Give the police plenty family’s wood, sadly, wouldn’t. The Registrar can of notice of the event if people park on the road. also insist that the ceremony take place indoors If you own a section of a larger wood you’ll also if the temperature is too hot or cold for comfort. need to inform neighbouring owners. If you never In Scotland and Northern Ireland, you can make see them, put up a notice in a common area a your vows anywhere you like as long as the month or two in advance to get the message out. You’ll probably need to provide some sort of

to both religious and humanist weddings, in Y H

Northern Ireland just to religious ones. However, RAP G

even in England and Wales, once you’ve got OTO PH

the legal bit completed, you can celebrate your Y UFF

marriage in the woods and speak your own vows D H in a place of your choosing, in as relaxed or A NN

formal a ceremony as you like. HA What should you consider when planning a woodland wedding? Plenty! Whatever the weather, you and your guests will want to be comfortable. Have a supply of brollies, sun cream and midge repellent available. Tell them on the invitation that they’ll be outdoors so they can dress accordingly. And, obviously, do the same yourselves. Scottish men can wear a kilt regardless of the weather or venue but other gents – and brides – need to consider how to dress

32 Living Woods CELEBRATIONS Y H RAP G Woodland wedding planners and venues book

OTO up well in advance. This list is by no means PH

ES comprehensive. RRI U

C GreenAcres Woodland Weddings: www.

THE greenacreswoodlandweddings.co.uk The Natural Wedding Company: thenaturalweddingcompany.co.uk Forestry Commission Weddings: woodlandweddingsevents.co.uk Cornish Tipi Weddings: cornishtipiweddings.co.uk Exclusive Woodland Weddings: exclusivewoodlandweddings.com Coco Wedding Venues: cocoweddingvenues.co.uk/venue_type/ woodland/ Woodland Weddings: woodland-weddings.com

Our wedding photographers: The Curries Photography: www.thecurries.co Shutter Go Click Photography: shuttergoclick.com Hannah Duffy Photography: www.hannahduffy.com Y H OTO RAP G PH

CK OTO PH

Y STO CK M I L A AL / R GO C E ENNE TT HU A ETI /S LV D E AROY E L N YA R Y H RAP G OTO PH

Y cover against both rain and excessive sun. Some people will want to put instructions inside the door for those who’ve never used one. UFF

D sit for the ceremony or the refreshments or both. As chair legs can Ditto if you have a Porta Potti or similar, and make sure you have H A be a problem on soft ground, consider other options like log seating enough cassettes and chemicals. Loo hire companies deliver to NN

HA or bales of hay. rough worksites, so if your wood is accessible, that’s another If you’re providing a barrel of beer, make sure the stand is option. If you’re inviting babies, have somewhere for nappy high enough to get a glass under the spigot without having to bend double. Wine boxes may be infra dig, but they are far more knees and twisted ankles. practical than bottles. They’re lighter, don’t break, don’t have If your party will go on after dark, tea lights in jam jars hung from empty plastic insides can be blown up as balloons. Compostable or requiring a noisy, smelly generator, you might opt for live music. burnable plates and glasses made from leaves, wood or cornstarch There is a lot to think about. Another option is to choose an established outdoor wedding venue to take care of arrangements lavender or rice instead, if people must throw something. and details. But keeping things simple will make your big day much The other big challenge is loos. If you have a composting toilet, less stressful, and memorable for all the right reasons.

Living Woods 33 TOOLS N ATO HE W CK I R Peter Lanyon FOLDING SHAVE HORSE KIT And two hours later, Rick Wheaton has a brand new shave horse

eter Lanyon’s background reveals to write to him. a deep love of wood. Following an Across the planet, the two men struck up a MA in Furniture Design from Bucks lively correspondence, and when Peter asked if PUniversity College, Peter has been making he could use elements of the design for his own exquisite wooden furniture and household portable shave horse, his fellow greenwood objects for more than twenty years. He sells his enthusiast raised no objection. work online, is a regular exhibitor at craft and design fairs, runs courses at his barn workshop shave horse. It was seen at the South West in deeply rural South Devon, and, if there’s Forest School Conference that year and was any time left in his day, gets involved in many an immediate hit. And why not? It’s light, community projects. portable, goes easily in the back of a car, quick For the last few years he’s been to set up and de-mount, and can be stored hung concentrating on using sustainable coppiced on a wall. Since then, pupils in a dozen or so or green timber, much preferring it to, as he of Peter’s workshop courses have produced calls it, ‘dry plank timber’. Peter’s greenwood around 100 horses. They are sold online ready- furniture and lighting are quite beautiful, there assembled, or you can buy a kit to make at is a strong artistic talent at work here. In fact, home. It is the kit that I’m reviewing here. I met Peter when he and a team of volunteers At this point I must explain that I’m were making an imposing outdoor sculpture/ completely new to the world of the shaving seat at the Sharpham Trust based in Dartington. horse, and this may have been the reason I was Peter is the Trust’s Artist in Residence this asked to write this review. Basically it’s one year. thing for an expert to report on a trouble-free With his background and particular interests, assembly, quite another for someone who had there’s little Peter doesn’t know about the literally never seen one before looking at the ancient craft of shaping green timber. In his instructions. own words, his philosophy is, ‘Minimum So, the shave horse kit: It comes neatly intervention, imposing as little as possible on packed and well protected in one heavy- the materials, and allowing the timber’s gentle duty cardboard box. Some of the pieces are curves to remain – as nature intended.’ quite small and I cleared my bench to avoid Now would be good time to write ‘Hence misplacing anything. Peter’s Portable Shave Horse’, but with characteristic modesty, Peter will tell you that obvious: the instructions are simple, well this shave horse is not his own design, but illustrated and to the point, with a genuine- one he borrowed and adapted for his own use. sounding invitation to call his mobile if any Some time ago in Living Woods Magazine he help is needed. I tested this. My call went to read a feature on the Japanese woodworker voice message, but Peter rang me back within an hour – impressive customer service. intrigued by the photos of Masashi’s shave A very few tools are needed, as detailed in the instructions: a pozi screwdriver (cordless,

34 Living Woods TOOLS N ATO HE W CK I R

ideally), a drill or two, and a 13mm socket spanner or socket driver. This isn’t the sort of kit that slots together seamlessly like something from IKEA, but the small amount of drilling, threading and screwing will be zero problem to the least horse stood handsomely on my bench, I felt a sense of achievement that I wouldn’t have got from two hours assembling a Swedish bookcase. the sections were robust and made from nice, Above: All the parts right straight-grained timber, the holes just cut the out of the box. right size for the heavy dowels. The estimate Left: Folding Below: The finished object, for assembly time seemed about right: it took unfolded, ready for use me around two hours and I must have spent Peter’s practical inf“uence is the threaded bars (one of them has to be driven immediately obvious cordless driver proved to be very handy — and N a new skill was learned.

ATO

HE When fully assembled, the horse had a W CK I R adjustments for different-sized greenwoods and for operators with different leg lengths all worked perfectly. Above all, it looked as if it had been designed by someone with years of knowledge and experience. In summary, I found that this kit ‘does what together perfectly well, it’s good value for money, and the end result is strong and stable. Anyone who wants a shaving horse that’s easy to carry and store, solid enough to do a good job, and at a reasonable price, will not be disappointed with this kit.

Rick Wheaton is a retired boatbuilder living in South Devon.

Shave horse kit: £120 + delivery. Fully assembled: £160 + delivery. ‘Build a Shave Horse’ course: £110 inc materials. Peter Lanyon Furniture: peterlanyonfurniture.co.uk Masashi Kutsuwa ‘Origami Bench’ plans: www.facebook.com/GreenWoodworkLab/ posts/505938072900994

Living Woods 35 TOOLS Value Judgment

Carlton Boyce’s guide to finding top tools for a bottom price

ne of the things I love about control does seem to be a forestry and woodland bit patchy – but the majority management is that it gives you seem to be pleased with Othe opportunity to buy an awful lot of it. Which goes to show shiny new stuff. that you do not need to And yet, that shine has a finite life, buy a pro quality chainsaw measured in minutes rather than years; if you’re just going to be your chainsaw is transformed from a limbing and chopping up handsome piece of industrial art into a the odd small tree. working tool with the first tree felled. And therein lies the rub. So while I’m happy to pay £100 for a Researching chainsaws led Gränsfors Bruk axe on the basis that it’ll me to one of the better- last me a lifetime, developing a patina that known internet forums reflects my life and work, I baulk at paying in which the Stihl 028 over the odds for something less lasting. Wood Boss – a chainsaw As an amateur user, this gives me the I love to bits, remember choice of buying secondhand or budget – is given a certain brands. In this respect I am promiscuous: amount of love from my everyday chainsaw is a Stihl 028 some hard-core, Old Wood Boss, lovingly rebuilt by a man School foresters, but whose hobby is stripping, restoring and the general consensus tuning old chainsaws. It fires first time, was that there are every time, revs like a Japanese superbike bigger, better chainsaws My cheap splitting axe and cost me less than £200 – about twice out there, almost all what you’d pay for a small, unbranded of which would have gets the “job done at a petrol chainsaw from B&Q. been hugely over- tenth of the cost of my I run it on the smallest bar I can specced for the job I (bought secondhand on eBay) and use needed to do. expensive Swedish Oregon chains that cost half that of a We should resist the urge to model genuine Stihl. I also buy both two-stroke overcomplicate things. In my case the and bar oil by the gallon, which shaves temptation is to buy a tool for the life a few more pounds off the running I want to lead rather than the one I invariably the one I throw in the back costs. I’m delighted with the results I actually do. Regular readers will know of the UTV if I’m heading out into the get. My old Stihl 362 and 441 were both that I set off down this very path by woods. magnificent machines, but too heavy to buying a hugely expensive (and heavy) Of course, there are some pieces of use all day in the woods now that I’m hydraulic forwarder trailer that was equipment for which paying top dollar is getting on a bit, whereas the Wood Boss gratuitously competent for the sort of essential. I’ll always buy branded chainsaw leaves me fresh as a daisy. jobs I needed it for. It sat rusting in the leggings and safety boots, for example, But before you laugh about that £105 yard while I pottered about with the and only from reputable dealers at that B&Q chainsaw I mentioned earlier, you £500 logging arch that actually suited my because the risk of inadvertently buying should know that customers who have needs. counterfeit stuff is otherwise too high. actually bought and reviewed it award Likewise, my cheap splitting axe gets Similarly, I don’t mind spending money on it an average score of 3.7 out of 5. Not the job done at a tenth of the cost of training courses, especially for equipment a ringing endorsement – and quality my expensive Swedish model and is that could reduce me to my component

36 Living Woods TOOLS OTO OTO PH

CK Y STO M A AL R / LLNE SÖ S A M O

Value Judgment TH

parts in the blink of a distracted eye. I usually start by removing the handle to remove any lacquer before fitting it The way to save even more money is (if there is one) before going over the and treating it with linseed oil. to search car boot sales for secondhand whole thing with the wire brush or The final stage is to sharpen it. tools. People often claim ‘they don’t wheel to get rid of any rust. If it’s an Sharpening axes, knives, chisels and make ‘em like that anymore’ and I’d especially nice piece, I have been known saws is an arcane subject and one that tend to agree when it comes to cutting to polish it up properly, starting with 180 almost everyone has an opinion on. tools in particular. Cheap steel makes grit paper, moving up the grades through All I’ll say – in addition to the fact that tools cheaply, but it doesn’t make them 240, 400, and then 800. Flap-wheels work YouTube is a great resource – is not especially good and there are plenty of well and the key is to take your time and to get too hung up on the different axes, chisels and saws that are still doing to sand each stage until the marks from processes and tools. Pick a method that sterling work after half a century or the previous, coarser grade paper have you like the look of and accept that more of hard use. disappeared. If you’re determined to get even a less-than-perfect DIY job will You can sometimes buy them and put a mirror finish, albeit one that will mark give you a better edge than anything them straight to work, but where’s the the first time you use it, then just keep you can buy off the shelf. fun in that? I’d rather while away a couple going up through the finer grades until After that, little and often is the key. of hours in the workshop restoring my you end with a final polish of Brasso. A few strokes on a sharpening stone new-old tools to their former glory. A Replacement wooden handles are should be enough to keep a decent hand-held wire brush and some elbow easily sourced online or through your edge and if you wipe it over after use grease will do the trick. If you’ve got local hardware shop. You want one made with an oily rag – and apply linseed oil access to a bench grinder, then fitting a from ash and do check that the grain is to the handle twice a year – you’ll have wire wheel on one end will save an awful running the length of the handle. Once something you can hand down to your lot of time and effort. I’ve found one I like the look of I sand it children, and their children after that.

Living Woods 37 OUTREACH Out of the Woods The Cart Shed charity’s ‘service without walls’ offers mental health sufferers a woodland pathway to improved wellbeing, by CEO Katie Eastaugh

all, well presented, articulate and polite, Sebastian (not his real name) looked the picture of health the day he knocked at the door of The Cart Shed. He’d been told Tthere was a veterans’ programme, and he was desperate for someone to talk to. The Cart Shed is a charity in north Herefordshire that uses its woodlands to allow participants to try something new, to improve well-being and find friendships and a place of calm in a supportive environment. Its primary focus is supporting adults with mental health issues, as well as those who experience poor physical health, learning disabilities, other forms of social exclusion and Armed Forces veterans who, for a variety of reasons, struggle to integrate into civilian life. According to the Office of National Statistics, about 7,000 veterans live in Herefordshire. Add to this number those living at the Hereford Garrison, the Army Reservists and their families, it is estimated that within Herefordshire the and learning opportunities, including coppicing, armed forces community numbers about Out Of Nature is a coppice crafts, greenwood work and 20,000 representing approximately 15% of sculpture show with more horticulture. Some individuals are referred the population. Of these, as many as 4,000 than 40 artists from all over directly from hospital as part of their discharge individuals may experience mental health issues the UK celebrating our link plan, others through Soldiers, Sailors and Air that have a dramatic effect on their lives. And of with nature. All proceeds Force Families Association, The Royal British this total, 1,750 are veterans. go to The Cart Shed Legion or simple word of mouth as confidence For the last three years, The Cart Shed has (www.thecartshed.co.uk), grows in The Cart Shed as a ‘safe pair of hands’. worked closely with veteran charities and the a charity which works with The Cart Shed does not claim to cure. local armed forces community to create an people with mental health Instead, highly qualified occupational therapists environment where those who have witnessed issues (including PTSD) in work closely with each participant to enable some of the worst human atrocities imaginable the woods through green them to overcome and accept episodes in their can find solace. woodcraft. lives they find difficult to live with. Everyone While much is made of conditions such as Sept 30-Oct 22, 10.30am- who attends sessions is given time. Time to sit, PTSD, there seems to be little understanding 5.30pm, £5 (children and time to talk, time to be listened to, time to cry. or acceptance that depression, anxiety and students free). There is time to try a new skill without fear of substance misuse also have an impact on those ‘Winds of Change’, October judgment or failure, time to share a meal and a who have served – and upon their partners, 14 and 15, is a celebration cup of tea. family members and children. Organisations like of green woodcraft and its Combat Stress struggle to cope with referrals, revival after the Big Storm What does this mean in reality? leaving many veterans to wait months and, 30 years ago, with Mike Sebastian had been out of the Army for 20 sometimes, years for treatment. Abbott, Gudrun Leitz, and years, having enrolled at 16. His return to civilian ‘Moving On’ is The Cart Shed’s current many others. life was not successful: for five years he drifted, veteran programme funded by The Royal used drugs, became homeless. His parents had British Legion, Herefordshire Council’s Adult Newport House, Almeley, cut ties with him. He says, ‘I had just two carrier Community Learning fund and the EF Bulmer Herefordshire, HR3 6LL bags.’ He narrowly avoided prison, but found Tr ust. www.outofnature.org.uk the Salvation Army’s Swindon Treatment Centre Participants are offered a range of training where he became clean and met someone who

38 Living Woods OUTREACH

The Cart Shed’s participants enjoy a range of activities, including coppicing, coppice crafts and greenwood work. inspired him to study ceramics. For a while, Sebastian had success: a career in the arts, marriage and a young family. But in 2015, he realised that he was becoming unwell and was falling into familiar, negative behaviour patterns. His GP said Sebastian was ‘fine’. Although he looked ‘together’ Sebastian was was faking PTSD. I received no treatment.’ He becoming increasingly distressed and fearful for was then held with other ‘normal’ criminals. He his personal safety and that of his family. endured the mental torment that he could have That is when Sebastian knocked on The Cart lost his family as well as his freedom. Six months Shed’s door. The Armed Forces Integration later when he went on trial, a jury acquitted him Officer, an occupational therapist with a mental in just 20 minutes. health specialism, supported Sebastian to Soon afterwards, Sebastian began to attend become a voluntary inpatient at the mental The Cart Shed’s veterans’ sessions, and quickly health unit of a local hospital while attending progressed to the Enterprise programme to Cart Shed once a week. He was diagnosed regain employment skills. He has found a job with PTSD. Having attended sessions for several in a charity in East Herefordshire that offers months, Sebastian began looking for new career him a workshop and a place of peace, and he options. Then, one night in December 2015, he continues to be involved the The Cart Shed. was arrested. He still suffers from flashbacks, blackouts and Sebastian says he can’t remember what he nightmares. He plans to exhibit at the Out of was doing, though a neighbour said he was Nature sculpture show this October. being threatening. He remembers helicopters, dogs, being dragged out of his shed. A judge Contact details: immediately put him on remand where he The Cart Shed was held on a psychiatric ward. He says, ‘It www.thecartshed.co.uk was horrific, all sorts of weird people. I saw [email protected] a psychiatrist once for five minutes. He said I tel: 07796421373

Living Woods 39 Quality tools for the discerning craftsman

www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk [email protected] Tel: 01142725387

Leisure and entertainment insurance Tailor-made insurance for your woodland For friendly advice and quotations, please contact us on 01273 475276 or 07879 657243 [email protected] www.thebeechtree.com

40 Living Woods TOOLS MULLER billhook with leather grip

Rod Waterfield finds a well-balanced billhook makes quick work of coppicing

We asked Rod Waterfield, Centre Manager of the Where the blade tang projects at the end of award-winning Woodland Skills Centre in Denbigh, the handle it has been peened over, but there to take a billhook made by the Tool Forge Leonhard were several sharp points which needed to be Müller & Sons (the company refers to these tools as filed down. ‘brush hooks’) of Austria into the woods and put it through its paces. Use The hook feels good and well balanced in the Design hand and has a slightly longer blade than our The handle is made of leather discs. Though other billhooks. giving a comfortable grip, the circumference It cuts well and we were able to cut all the is only 12cm, which means that someone rods on a coppice stool quickly and safely. with large hands might find it difficult to grip firmly. We didn’t try using the hook Leonhard Müller & Sons when the handle was wet and so can’t billhook, round tip, leather grip comment on whether the leather version, number 0673, 10in would give a more secure grip than a cutting edge, £34 inc VAT from wooden handle. Classic Hand Tools Ltd. www. There is a leather guard disc classichandtools.com between the handle and the blade which is a useful safety feature. The Woodland Skills Centre/ The edge of the disc was quite Canolfan Crefftau’r Goedwig rough but this should smooth offers a two-day Coppice off with use. Crafts course, 18 - 19 There is a brass tang at November, including not the end of the handle only introductory woodland which projects some management and coppice 4cm at right angles to work, but the opportunity the handle. We’re told to make a range of coppice it’s for better grip products including a besom when working. broom and a small hurdle. www.woodlandskillscentre.uk Condition on delivery The blade was supplied sharpened Many thanks to Classic Hand but there was a significant burr on one side of Tools, who supplied the billhook. the blade which had to be removed before use. classichandtools.com

Living Woods 41 TOOLS

Robert Sorby PROEDGE SHARPENER

Peter Lanyon modified his ProEdge and now he likes it even more

any years ago, when I was a neophyte drawknife. These I have always sharpened by furniture maker, I attended the NEC hand. The issue with this is that when one has woodworking exhibition, where Jim ten drawknives to sharpen, and a workshop to MKingshott – he of Sharpening: The Complete tidy and a hundred other things to do, it can get Guide fame – was doing a sharpening rushed. The edges over time become ‘dubbed demonstration. When I asked if he ever used a honing guide, the chap next to me snorted This year I invested in a fabulous piece of as if to pour scorn on the suggestion that the kit – the Robert Sorby ProEdge sharpener. I great Mr Kingshott would ever stoop to using was pleased when I took it out of its box: such devices. Jim calmly pulled out a drawer it had a solid, well-made feel to it, with the in his workbench and talked me through his added bonus of being British-made. I could considerable collection of sharpening aids. now sharpen spokeshaves, chisels and plane Sharpening for me is a machine process. It irons to a razor edge in a matter of seconds, but needs to be carried out precisely and quickly. If it is a slow and laborious procedure – well, often the handles got in the way of achieving I know what I’m like, and I just won’t get an edge along the entire length. There are a around to it as often as I should. My work is number of accessories for the ProEdge and a kind of fusion between green woodworking eventually I bit the bullet and invested again and contemporary furniture making. As well in the knife jig. It takes a couple of minutes to as making and selling furniture, I run green set up the machine for knives, but I have found woodworking courses with a modern slant, that as the tool is held lower on the belt, so far, and support communities to design and make none of the handles on the drawknives I own furniture for their own spaces. have fouled the machine. Nobody pays me to sharpen my tools, but it As each drawknife is a different width, the pays for me to have sharp tools. And I have a setting needs to be adjusted, but with a couple lot of them: chisels, plane irons, spokeshaves, of spacer jigs, this becomes a simple, quick and knives, cabinet scrapers, carving gouges, accurate alteration to make. I use the ProEdge travishers. They are an essential pre-requisite to grind the bevel, then take off the burr by for nearly everything I do in the workshop, and if I am to enjoy and succeed at my work, then some wet and dry paper glued to a piece of they need to be sharp. Having struggled once, many years ago on a course where the tools strokes on a leather strop with some Flexcut Gold honing compound. It is good not to over important it is that participants on my courses strop, as it is easy to dub the edge over, over and volunteers on my projects all experience time. the joy of working with razor-edged tools. I can now sharpen all my tools with this one For many years I have relied on a slow machine. I actively look forward to sharpening wetstone grinder, which, while perfect for my tools knowing that a razor edge will be chisels and plane irons, is absolutely useless effortlessly and reliably achieved. Now, time for the workhorse of my creative practice, the

42 Living Woods TOOLS

The jig accepts a wide variety of knife thicknesses, but I swapped the rather stubby screws it came with for something a little longer, so it now accepts up to 7mm thick blades. There are a number of grits available, from a 60 grit for rapid regrinding, to an incredibly fine ProEdge 3000 Trizact belt, which leaves an edge similar to a brand-new razor blade. Belt change-over takes just seconds.

Robert Sorby ProEdge Sharpening System, from £270: www.robert-sorby.co.uk

Flexcut Gold Polishing Compound, £11.66, available widely.

Classic Hand Tools stocks both items: www.classichandtools.com

Peter Lanyon Furniture: www.peterlanyonfurniture.co.uk This grip seems to work best

Living Woods 43 CLASSIC READS It takes a STORM TO M AKE A WOODLAND Portrait of a Woodland: Biodiversity in 40 Acres 133 tree and shrub species native to Britain, Published by Search Press, £25 noting the characteristics of each one, and illustrating them in all their seasonal glory with The Handbook of Native Trees and Shrubs – colour photographs. How to Plant and Maintain a Natural Woodland is often neglected, but that is absolutely vital New Holland Publishing, from £3 (est) to a healthy woodland ecosystem – the forest Review by Judith Millidge CHARLOTTE that requires sensitive management and this section of the book is a useful pictorial guide DE LA BEDOYERE I always loved second-hand book shops – the lichens in a native woodland. from the shelves and the possibility of The book concludes with a list of suppliers, discovering hidden treasure. Although many nurseries and woodland organisations, which is have fallen victim to the Amazonian behemoth, of the well-written and illustrated word. I was delighted to stumble upon two books Portrait of a Woodland: Biodiversity in 40 Acres, written in 2004, and The Handbook of Native Trees and Shrubs, published in 2001. Woodland owners in search of illustrated guides on planting and woodland management will not regret perusing either of these volumes. They are full of clear advice with excellent practical illustrations on planning, propagating and planting, as well as providing an inspirational record of one woman’s mission to encourage biodiversity and extend broadleaf coverage within a native woodland. The owner of a 40-acre woodland in the High Weald, Charlotte wrote The Handbook of Native Trees and Shrubs in 2001, drawing on her experience of sourcing healthy tree stock, planting and nurturing. Her mission was to plant native species throughout her woodland, much of which consisted of what she called down like dominoes in the storm’ of 1987. This is a practical guide to planting both large and small woodlands, along with advice on how to manage them with minimal intervention – although this is often easier said than done. The author touches on the importance of rides and glades to the woodland’s biodiversity, advises on the creation of ponds, and discusses how to protect young tress from pests such as deer and rabbits. Bluebells in Butler’s Wood The second part of the book catalogues the

44 Living Woods CLASSIC READS useful but must be treated with caution, given woodland. She was also spurred on by the 1987 that the handbook is now 16 years old. hurricane, which ripped through the southeast of England, snapping so many venerable trees you can plant a woodland and advocates using like matchwood. Although she deplored the a mix of native species alongside a structured devastation, in many ways, the author could see programme of thinning, ensuring that there are that it was a ‘godsend’, and was particularly rides for access and wildlife habitat, and the pleased to see the destruction of so many preservation of ancient woodland. Given time, Scots pine in her woodland. In fact, the storm provided a huge opportunity to replant and to how that happened. restock. As she wrote in the introduction to After 25 years restoring and managing her The Handbook of Native Trees and Shrubs, woodland in East Sussex, Charlotte wanted ‘The trauma of fallen trees everywhere, round to produce a detailed record of the woodland the house and blocking access turned into a for her sons and grandchildren. Portrait of miracle. The seemingly barren coniferous earth a Woodland, published in 2004, catalogues had once been ancient woodland, and when her management of 40 very diverse acres of cleared and replanted with native species, it woodland that she acquired along with her underwent a complete transformation.’ house in the late 1970s. The woodland is A couple of years after the storm, the entire divided into 11 separate and distinct areas, woodland was properly surveyed, producing with different stages of growth and past a catalogue of 250 species of trees and history. The author’s record of how she tackled shrubs. This whetted Charlotte’s appetite and the disparate sections makes interesting and encouraged her to work to restore her woodland often inspiring reading. What makes this title stand out is the that ‘conifers are the worst trees for holding trenchant views of the writer, who had a clear back any diverse understorey’, eschews the use vision of what she wanted to achieve in her of weed killers or other chemicals, and will not She delved into the history of the land and discovered that her wood was a perfect microcosm of UK forestry. ‘Only tiny pockets of the original ancient woodlands survived. As in my case, most had been felled and replanted with cash crops that gave little heed to wildlife and the dormant biodiversity.’ Charlotte set herself the task of redressing the wrongs of the past and she recounts how she approached the different needs of each section – thinning here and replanting there. She consulted local experts and organisations, but has followed her best instincts, to let nature take its course, working from the ground up to establish healthy soil and knowing that everything will The biodiversity of the woodland is discussed and illustrated in great detail, with a complete within her 40 acres. Long captions provide vital information – where the various species in which habitat, and how the birds, insects, reference, as well as a well-illustrated gazetteer. Charlotte’s work has undoubtedly improved the habitat of her woodland. Thirty years after the great storm, large parts are utterly transformed and, much to her satisfaction, See Letters (page 47) for the biodiversity has improved immeasurably. a special offer on Portrait Both of these titles make rewarding reading, of a Woodland – and the whether you are in search of inspiration or chance to win a copy. would appreciate a well-illustrated woodland reference work.

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46 Living Woods LETTERS

LetteRs

DEAR NANCY, all said they were astonished are readily available new from, This image does show a I am enjoying reading issue by this, and they were worried for instance, Thomas Flinn of trickle of water down the side number 44, summer 2017, that someone might have an Sheffield, or on ebay. They are so maybe not too much build- but feel that I must write and accident and be scalded. easy to sharpen, easy to use, up with this boiling, but who comment about the choice of Seb Corall give you exercise and don’t use can tell. photo used in the ‘All the kit Out Of Our Tree Forest School fossil fuels. What’s not to like? Not a good practice to have you need’ article. CIC Yours sincerely, stopper in place. Please correct The photo of the Kelly Kettle Simon Barley this in your next edition. in this article is to my mind DEAR NANCY (Author: British saws: a history Regards, appalling. As a Forest School May I suggest two corrections? and collector’s guide) Richard Bingham leader and a woodsman, I am One is very serious, and is the disturbed by a photo that could photograph on p19 of what DEAR NANCY, Dear Gentlemen, be deemed to encourage the you call the Kelly Kettle, but Read Living Woods Magazine for Many thanks for taking time to unsafe use of a Kelly Kettle. which our family has called a many years, and enjoyed each write and point out the incorrect In the picture, where the kettle volcano kettle, of which we’ve one. use of a Kelly Kettle in the last is clearly alight, the spout is had a series for the past 50 Kelly Kettle image on page issue of Living Woods. Kelly almost directly above the air years. Your picture shows a 19 shows a very dangerous Kettles are a super piece of kit, hole in the pan, and on a still lighted fire in the kettle WITH practice: never use the kettle but should be used in accordance day, many people choose to THE CORK IN PLACE. The with the stopper in as this with instructions and common blow through that hole to instructions that come with the can cause a build-up of steam sense at all times. The editor encourage their kettle to boil kettle these days warn against pressure with explosive apologises and sincerely hopes no quickly – this could result in a that, so please can you print a results. If you were unlucky readers referred to that photo as nasty scald as the kettle boils correct picture and a warning to be standing in front, boiling instruction. over while someone is bending – and maybe avoid a nasty water and you are not a good Nancy down. explosion? combination. This in itself is dangerous The second is less serious: a enough, but not only that, request to put more emphasis the kettle is clearly being on hand tools and less on that boiled with the cork bung in horrible instrument of noise – something that has always and insensitive destruction, the Only availablebeen clearly by stated subscription by the www.livingwoodsmagazine.co.ukchain saw. I know that some manufacturer that you should professional woods people

not do. If the cork swells, and need to use one to earn a living, PHOTO ALAMY STOCK / ALEX RAMSAY sometimes it does in contact but surely many of your readers with hot water, the kettle is are not professional. For them sealed, and will explode! I work two kinds of handsaw were with lots of children and we designed, one over 2000 years use Kelly Kettles all the time, ago, the two-man cross-cut, and I am very proud to say that and one in the 19th century, when shown this article, they the one-man cross-cut. Both

COMPETITION AND SPECIAL OFFER

Win a copy of Portrait of a When you order the book Woodland by Charlotte de via the Search Press website, la Bédoyère. We have two www.searchpress.com, copies to give away. Send your using promo code SP9863, name and address via email to you get £2.00 off and free nancy@livingwoodsmagazine. postage in the UK. co.uk and we’ll pull two names out of a hat. Dangerous practice

Living Woods 47 WOODNOTE Right outside your front door This charming guide invites readers to appreciate the nature that’s nearby

f you don’t have a generous, enthusiastic, artistic friend to accompany you as you explore the Inatural world in your neighbourhood, be of good heart. Author and artist Sue Belfrage beautiful little illustrated book-cum-journal, Down to the River and Up to the Trees. Belfrage wants to inspire you to ‘discover the hidden nature on your doorstep’ in a series of simple chapters with pages to instructions on making charcoal from willow:

If you’ve made your own charcoal, you could use it to create a bark rubbing. All you’ll need are a sheet of paper and a drawing medium such as your charcoal, a soft pencil, pastels or wax crayons. And a tree.

Press your paper against the tree’s bark and rub your charcoal stick or crayon over it until the pattern and texture of he bark comes through. If you have a couple of different colour crayons or pastels with you, use these to create contrasting layers. And, while you’re there, take a moment or two to enjoy the feel of the bark under your hands.

Turn the results into an abstract piece of art or cut up the rubbing to make a collage; or stick them in the space opposite – whatever appeals to you.

Different types of tree have different patterned bark, so if you’re unsure what species of tree you’ve been leaning up against, you might be able to identify it by comparing your bark rubbing with the

Belfrage would inspire a young person to interact with the natural world and bring home memories to keep in the pages of this charming book.

Down to the River and Up to the Trees by Sue Belfrage is published by Thorsons and

is widely available, £9.99. Wheeler Tom

48 Living Woods

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